Over the weekend, Emma wrote a note to her most favorite friend on sparkly, pink paper. She let me read it before she sealed the envelope. The note read: Dear Audrey,You are my very best friend.Your best friend,Emma Emma proudly took the letter to school. After school,...
For our 13th wedding anniversary, my husband and I had a breakfast date at a coffee shop. I was delighted when my latte arrived in a ceramic mug with frothed milk in the shape of a heart. That extra touch made the coffee taste even...
There was a giant, pink and white conch shell sitting on the registration desk of the hotel. The girls and I admired it as the concierge walked by and nodded toward the shell, saying, “You can find those on the beach.” We were delighted by this...
I’ve started a morning ritual of drinking tea at the kitchen table before everyone wakes up. In the stillness and quiet, before this busy day of thanks begins, I look out toward the mountains and watch as the first light of dawn appears. I sit...
Phyllis Brinkerhoff, fondly known as Mrs. B in her Prairie Village, Kansas, neighborhood, loves one thing more than anything else in the world. And that one thing is the song “Hokey Pokey.”Wanting to share her love for the song, she gave a CD with her...
I just came across a masterpiece of a video. Filmed by Bianca Giaever, a young filmmaker and soon-to-be college graduate, the video captures the wisdom of 6-year-old Asa. Bianca begins by asking Asa to tell her a story. His flow of ideas begins with a story...
There’s a heartwarming children’s book by Ruth Krauss titled “I’ll Be You and You Be Me.” It has delightful verses and simple drawings by Maurice Sendak. On one of the pages, there is a sequence of small sketches showing a little boy surrounded by other...
When an 80-year-old patient was establishing primary care with my husband a few years ago, she ended the visit by saying, “I’m a hugger. May I give you a hug?” Though there is strong evidence in clinical medicine that touch is helpful for healing, my...
A few years ago, Google decided to investigate what skills, traits and backgrounds could be combined to engineer the perfect team. It turned out that it wasn’t about picking the best and smartest people. Rather, the results depended on the ways teams worked together and...
“We cannot change, we cannot move away from what we are, until we thoroughly accept what we are. Then change seems to come about almost unnoticed.” - Carl Rogers The idea of approaching people with acceptance has roots in the work of humanistic psychologist Carl...